WE INTERRUPT THE LRFA BLOG TO BRING YOU THE AMERICAN ART AUCTION RESULTS

by leslierankowfinearts

Norman RockwellSaving Grace

THE EXTRAORDINARY PRICES THAT ART CURRENTLY COMMANDS IS NOT ISOLATED TO POST-WAR AND CONTEMPORARY WORKS. THE AMERICAN SALES AT BOTH CHRISTIE’S AND SOTHEBY’S INDICATE THE STRONG AND COMMITTED INTEREST THAT COLLECTORS IN THIS PERIOD THAT SPANS FROM 19th CENTURY HUDSON RIVER PAINTING TO MID-20th CENTURY MODERNIST WORKS WILL PAY TO ACQUIRE AN ICONIC WORK OF AMERICAN ART.

AT SOTHEBY’S, THE CENTERPIECE OF THE SALE WAS A SELECTION OF WORKS BY NORMAN ROCKWELL DESCENDED IN THE FAMILY OF KENNETH J. STUART, THE ART EDITOR OF The Saturday Evening Post AND FRIEND AND SUPPORTER OF THE ARTIST. ON DECEMBER 4, 2013, NORMAN ROCKWELL’S , SAVING GRACE, SOLD FOR THE RECORD-BREAKING PRICE OF $48 MILLION. THE BIDDING NARROWED DOWN TO TWO TELEPHONE BIDDERS AND WENT ON FOR A LONG WHILE (NINE MINUTES) IN AUCTION TIME. SPECULATION THAT SEEMS ACCURATE IS THAT THE UNDERBIDDER WAS ASIAN AND THAT THE BUYER WAS FILM GENIUS AND AVID ROCKWELL COLLECTOR, GEORGE LUCAS.

THANKS TO THE GENEROSITY OF SENIOR SPECIALIST, ELIZABETH BEAMAN, OF CHRISTIE’S AMERICAN ART, THE LRFA BLOG JUST FEATURED AN INSIDE VIEW OF THE DEPARTMENT’S HISTORY AND ACTIVITIES AND THE HIGHLIGHTS OF THE DECEMBER 5th SALE. IT IS A PLEASURE TO FOLLOW UP WITH THE AUCTION RESULTS AS A CODA TO LIZ BEAMAN’S INFORMATIVE AND DETAILED CONTRIBUTION.

Edward HopperEast Wind Over Weehawken, 1934

EDWARD HOPPER’S East Wind Over Weehawken, 1934,REALIZED A RECORD-BREAKING PRICE OF $40.5 MILLION OVER AN ESTIMATE OF $22-28 MILLION. HOPPER’S ICONIC PAINTING OF A DESOLATE STREET CORNER OF A MODEST TOWN IN NEW JERSEY DURING THE POST-DEPRESSION ERA WITH A FOR SALE SIGN EMPHASIZING THE HARDSHIP OF THAT DECADE, SET THE RECORD FOR THE MOST EXPENSIVE EDWARD HOPPER EVER SOLD TO AN UNIDENTIFIED TELEPHONE BIDDER, TOPPING THE RECORD $26.9 MILLION FOR HOPPER’S Hotel Window.

THE SALE CERTAINLY CONFIRMS THE EVER- GROWING FLOOD OF MONEY AND COMMITMENT TO AMERICAN ART, AS AN ALTERNATIVE INVESTMENT AND SUBSTANTIATES THAT WORKS OF GREAT PROVENANCE AND QUALITY FIND ENTHUSIASTIC AND GENEROUS BUYERS IN EVERY PERIOD OF ART.

Elizabeth Sterling, Head of American Artcommented, “A saleroom filled with collectors eager to acquire rare museum-quality pieces led to a sale total of $76.8 million, the highest ever for an auction of American Art at Christie’s. This, combined with the record breaking price of Edward Hopper’s East Wind Over Weehawken, underscores the rising strength of the market for American Art, particularly for Modernist works. Illustration also performed consistently well throughout the sale, with all works by Norman Rockwell selling within or above their estimate.

Norman RockwellThe Pasture

We look forward to the next three weeks of our Private Selling Exhibition Illustrating America: Norman Rockwell and His Contemporaries, as well as the mid-season sale of American Art in New York on February 26th.”

AS SNOW FALLS IN NEW YORK, WE WILL HAPPILY RETURN TO NICHOLAS CHRISTOPHER’S EXPLORATION OF GREAT ART DESTINATIONS, IN EXOTIC AND BEAUTIFUL LOCATIONS AROUND THE WORLD IN THE NEXT LRFA BLOG.